Monday, June 26, 2017

As Real As The Easter Bunny: The "Free Market" Delusion

We've all endlessly heard that the "free
market" (formerly known as capitalism, before the system to which the term refers brought the label into widespread disrepute) is the
only system consistent with "human nature," that is, that people allegedly act selfishly all the time. The only alternative to grotesque inequality under the "free market" is a Soviet-style dungeon state, which is no alternative at all, so stop complaining.

The main problem with this "analysis" is that there
is no "free market," a myth that belongs up there with the tooth fairy
in terms of its (lack of) substance . . . The U.S. did not develop its
economy according to "free market" prescriptions. It developed the
way every other developed country did - by radically violating free
market prescriptions and using state power to protect its fledgling
industries until they were strong enough to stand on their own . . .
Anyone think we could have become a superpower by selling fish and fur
on the "free market"? The only places close to "free market" conditions
are Third world basket cases . . . Communism is another story, basically
state-run capitalism, which developed faster in both China and the former USSR than in any "capitalist" country, but which obliterated personal liberty. Anyway, it should be obvious that in the era of "too big to fail"
enterprises there is no "free market." The profitability of the big
banks is directly tied to their guaranteed taxpayer bailout. So for
you believers in the tooth fairy free market, stop being so gullible!

Furthermore, the idea that everyone acts selfishly all the time is just
another pile of steaming bullshit promoted endlessly by "too big to fail"
enterprises sucking on the tit of the Nanny State while praising
themselves for "rugged individualism." If it were true,
parents would steal food off their children's plates in order to "get
the advantage" on their weaker competition. But how many parents act
that way?